Canadian ladies über thread!

What a great season for the Canadian ladies! Kaetlyn Osmond earned two berths for Canada in Sochi and we have a potentially great battle for the second spot.

And Gabrielle Daleman and Alaine Chartand (the front runners for that second spot) just missed getting three spots at next years junior worlds, but amazingly they did get two spots per JGP next year, and there's enough talent coming up in junior and novice to use those spots!

For next season, I think Daleman and Chartrand should do the senior Grand Prix. It's unlikely that they'd get a non host pick based on their season best rankings though.

I'm not sure what to do with Julianne Séguin, who is actually higher on the season best list than Chartrand, but I think she could benefit from another year on the JGP, especially with a solid triple loop.

I also wonder who will get the second spot to the world team trophy. Do they have to send Lacoste due to ISU ranking or can they send Chartrand? I'd love to see Chartrand with a chance to improve her season best score.

So let's see how this thread evolves. I know there's at least one FSUer who identifies as "Canadian ladies über friendly."

hey danafan! long time no talk
Thrilled with Kaetlyn getting the two spots and personally, I'd leave Lacoste at home for the WTT. I love her skating, usually, but it seems like she's regressing. Not only that, but the younger ones are passing her by. I think it's time the torch is passed to those who can handle their nerves a bit better.

Agree that it would really benefit Daleman and Chartrand to do Senior Grand Prix next season, if at all possible. Seguin, I think, needs another year on the JPG. Just a bit more seasoning, so to speak.

I'd still like to see Lacoste go to WTT. What would be the benefit to sending anyone else? I don't think Chartrand could improve her score by all that much, since she already skated an almost perfect long program at Junior worlds with seven triples. She did have a fall in the short program there, but doing a clean double axel would only add about two or three points to her total score.

Furthermore, I would like to see both Daleman and Chartrand stay on the JGP for one more season. Next season they would potentially be in the hunt for medals at JGP events, and they need to get used battling for spots on the podium before being sent out into the even higher-pressure environment of the Senior Grand Prix. We have the spots on the JGP next season; why not use four of them for Daleman and Chartrand? That still leaves 10 spots for other skaters.

Daleman and Chartrand both had a higher placement at junior worlds than Osmond did last year, and Osmond didn't have any trouble adapting to senior level internationals this season. I don't see a need to keep them on the JGP another year, but we'll see what Skate Canada, and the skaters themselves if they have any say, decide.

hey danafan! long time no talk
Thrilled with Kaetlyn getting the two spots and personally, I'd leave Lacoste at home for the WTT. I love her skating, usually, but it seems like she's regressing. Not only that, but the younger ones are passing her by. I think it's time the torch is passed to those who can handle their nerves a bit better.

Agree that it would really benefit Daleman and Chartrand to do Senior Grand Prix next season, if at all possible. Seguin, I think, needs another year on the JPG. Just a bit more seasoning, so to speak.

Daleman can go to WTT this year as it's just a senior international and not a championship. Sotnikova went last year, for example. I really hope SC picks her as she is Canada's number two lady and IMO the front-runner for the second spot in Sochi.

Daleman should go to WTT. I think it's great to give the younger skaters experience on the senior GP circuit as well, who else do we really have other than Osmond in senior ranks? (Hope Najarro comes back from her injury), Lacoste is pretty much done, her very last hope is the Sochi spot IF she comes 2nd at nationals (assuming Osmond wins), and then wins a skate-off with one of the younger girls at 4CC (wait when does 4CC happen in an Olympic year?) like the one last season with Cynthia Phaneuf. What we have not talked about is.....

I go back and forth on all three of the ladies who competed on the JGP last year. Experience-wise, it would be great to get them out on the Senior GP but I think that they'll all have trouble getting invites based on where they are on the SB list, whereas there are lots of JGP spots and I'm not sure about whether there will be enough skaters meeting SC's criteria to fill those spots. One option (I think) for SC would be to submit Daleman and Chartrand for the Sr. GP and leave two host spots at Skate Canada open - if they get an invite to another GP, then SC can also use the host spots for them and they'll have two assignments. And if they don't get another invite, could go back on the JGP. Another option would just be to assign them SC and a Senior B, then play the alternate lottery to hope for a second GP invite. At 39th, Daleman might have a shot at getting an invite, but 42nd place Osmond didn't get one last year, so it's a risky game to play. SC might have to trade favours with other federations to get Daleman an invite (I'll invite your skater if you invite mine).

For the JGP, I think Austman, Steward, and Dunley all have the goods to get out on the JGP. I believe that Veronik Mallet is still age-eligible, so she should be given some consideration for either a JGP or a Senior B after finishing 5th at Canadians. Not sure about other contenders at this point, but hopefully some skaters will come out and impress in the summer. Steward showed a lot of promise last summer, attempting the flip and loop in several events; similarly, Chartrand and Daleman were impressing people the year before. If we'd had more spots, they might have been sent out on the JGP earlier, so now that we've got the spots, it will be interesting to see who the surprise talents are in the summer.

ltnskater, I doubt that 4CC will be used for any kind of skateoff - given how close it is to the Olympics and that it will be taking place in Asia, I don't expect any Canadian skaters going to the Olympics to go to 4CC. Which is another reason for SC to make sure that skaters get out and get experience, since that means there will be additional slots to fill at 4CC, so there needs to be skaters who have met the minimum who can attend. I guess with so many JGP slots, there would be lots of junior ladies likely to meet the minimum and be able to be sent, but I hope we don't end up with another situation like this year where Seguin got to go to 4CC over Mallet because Mallet didn't have fall assignments and no minimum score.

Yes that is the problem with Daleman and Chartrand going Senior. Can SC get them a second GP event? At the same time, it does make sense for them to move up as it's incredibly likely one of them will be going with Osmond to the Olympics and then Worlds and it's kind of ludicrous to debut at the Olympics. Giving them both a B competition to make up for not having a second event seems like a solid strategy.

One of them should definitely be going to the WTT. It's hard to think of a more ideal Senior debut competition. It's fairly high profile because of all the stars in attendance but at the same time low pressure due to the newness/lack of prestige and success being based on the team rather than the individual. Plus, one of these girls will be doing this exact competition at the Olympics as well so should be good experience with team-building and the format.

Daleman does have a shot at getting a GP substitute shot. She is #39 on the SB list, and last season, ladies in the #40s on the list got sub spots in the GP. If she gets sent to the JGP, of course she can't do the GP.

It would be funny if LaCoste gets the 2nd spot as it seems everyone has written her off. Is she skates cleanly I still think the judges would place her 2nd over the others based on higher PCS.

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Yeah, I have a feeling she's going to be at the Sochi Olympics, and then she will retire. I think being beaten this year at Nationals might be a wake-up call that she has to bring her A game next season, and she'll fix whatever might be going wrong in her training that's been making her skate poorly.

Yay! I didn't know that the age requirement for WTT was the same as senior internationals and not senior ISU championships. Looks like they went by nationals results since Chartrand is alternate. A great opportunity for Daleman to improve her ISU season best score with a senior program. What a great opportunity for her and thank you Sylvia for bumping this thread with this news.

I wonder if Joannie wanted to be sure there'd be two spots for the women before making up her mind about returning. Her various interviews sounded to me as though she didn't want to upstage anyone - which is admirable. If she decides to go for it, it will certainly make it interesting next year. I saw Lacoste at Canadians and thought she came out really strong, but about half way through she seemed to lose her attack and then her jumps.

Yay, I'm glad Daleman is being sent. This will be a good, low-pressure event for her, and she sure earned it with her performances at Canadians and Junior Worlds. I wonder if this means she's skating senior next year.

It has to be. With two Olympic spots I'm sure SC would like to see KO and another young gun get a spot, assuming Joannie doesn't return. She still hasn't said...

My heart goes out to Amelie. I hope she fights and skates well and earns a spot. But I have to feel that SC wants more options for the team and at WTT, this might be another chance to improve SB and get on the SGP.

I'll bet Daleman and Chartrand skate senior next year, while on the JGP there will be a number of possibles to fill the raft of slots we have, including Seguin, Austman, Dunley, Gong, Steward, Mallet, England...goes on and on (when does that happen in Canadian ladies??)

Unless Lacoste is injured, turned it down, or has decided to retire, it really sucks for Lacoste, because, by the rules in the communication, she should have gotten the invite, since one of her scores was used to qualify Canada for the event. (I know, rulz, schulz.)

This flip-flopping back and forth editing and adding to long programs to fit a junior then senior event can't be an ongoing practice. In an Olympic year I'd say go with the Osmond plan and create one program version, lock it in, and train the begeezus out of it. I say put Chartrand and Daleman into seniors next year and have at it. They likely both won't go to Sochi but you have Skate Canada, Senior Bs and 4CCs to occupy your time in seniors so these skaters won't be wasting their energy.

Lacoste. Really do want to see her skate well but Nats in an Olympic year is the event that has the most nervous skates. Lacoste would stay in just to excel in this event...and...well...we've seen how she responds to pressure. Conversely, the kids will be bombing around the ice hoping to qualify for the first of 3 or 4 Olympic games. Long story short, if Amelie finishes top 5 she'll do well.

The grand prix assignments are out. Osmond and Lacoste were assigned Skate Canada with one spot TBA. Osmond also got Rostelcom Cup. I was really hoping to see Daleman and Chartrand on the senior grand prix. Lacoste was guaranteed a spot due to her world standing.

Only Chartrand's name is listed at the moment for the ladies. Canada can send 2 ladies to all JGP events. Any unfilled slots will go to Japan. Hopefully SC will fill the other slot with one of the top juniors or novices from nationals. I know they won't have summer competition data to go by yet but there were junior ladies who did meet the higher standards ( increased from 115 to 125 ) at nationals.